Fear
by Allyse
Summary: No one is really sure what Connor's new job at Prospero involves, not even Abby, and it's starting to create tension within the ARC team. When disaster strikes, the team are forced to ask themselves: what are they really afraid of?
1. Part 1

**Fear**

_My entry for "__F" of the A-Z Primeval FanFic Challenge_

_Who? __Series 4/5 Cast_

_When? __Post-series 4 (though I'm ignoring the fact that Emily left)_

_Please note: I drafted most of this story prior to Series 5 (before the Watch promos even started). All I'd seen when I started writing was the lift confrontation between Abby and April on Janice Byrne's showreel._

* * *

><p><strong><span>Part One<span>**

_0830HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON_

Becker leaned back in his chair – utterly bored – and looked over at a familiar head of reddish brown hair. It swished backwards and forwards as Jess moved up and down the console in her chair, working in a continuous stream of movement. Her attention darted from person to person, screen to screen and it made Becker feel a bit giddy. An outsider would think they were in the middle of something serious, but Jess worked just as earnestly during the quiet times that bored Becker rigid. He watched, slightly in awe, as she glanced from one screen to another in quick succession, her fingers moving frantically over the keys.

Lester was peering over her shoulder, monitoring progress and poking his nose in like the control-freak he was. When he touched one of the controls on the console, Jess swatted at him with her fingers, smacked his arm and sent him packing with a quick-witted remark.

Sometimes, Becker thought, Jess could be so childlike: innocent and playful and almost carefree. It was those moments when he was reminded how young she actually was. There was always that little jolt of fear that she was too young, in his opinion, to be in this job.

Still, when the anomaly alert sounded, there was no one he relied on more to keep them all safe. Jess was efficient, dedicated, focused and _brilliant. _She was wise well beyond her years and could cut anyone down to size if she needed to – Becker included – and that demanded respect, regardless of age.

Amused and intrigued, he sauntered over to see what had got her in such a whirl so early in the day.

* * *

><p><em>09<em>_15HRS: CIRCLE AND METROPOLITAN LINES, LONDON UNDERGROUND, LONDON_

Connor took the underground to work that morning and it gave him plenty of time to mull over the events of the day so far.

Abby had pulled up to the kerb – a little too fast in his opinion – outside the tube station and huffily said goodbye. He'd tried to kiss her cheek but she'd moved away, the remnants of that morning's argument too clear in her head to accept any affection. Disheartened, Connor had climbed out of the Mini and watched her drive away with that sinking feeling he got every time she was angry with him. The fear that maybe this time she'd see sense.

It hurt to be reminded that she was too good for him. He had no hope of ever living up to her expectations, not now that they were back here, in the real world. His work was so important but she couldn't see it. She didn't understand and just said that she didn't like him working for Burton. When he asked her why she always blamed it on female intuition and there was no scientific basis for her concerns that Connor could relate to.

He asked her to see the bigger picture, but she complained that he was too intent on that big picture to focus on the individual, the person stood right in front of him. She was wrong. Or at least, he really hoped so. He had waited too long for this: both for Abby to be his girl, but also for the chance to work with one of the country's leading scientists.

So one argument preceded another and they had been running in this circle for weeks. And now here he was: literally darting around the city, counting down the stops on the yellow line.

Something felt different today when he clambered out at Baker Street and changed to another crowded carriage on the Metropolitan line. The feeling in his stomach was not so much sinking, but plummeting. He hoped the rubbish commute was worth it. He hoped desperately that his job was worth Abby being mad at him the whole time.

_It better be worth it_, he thought again. He rubbed the back of his neck, unconsciously aware that he was being watched but being too preoccupied to notice.

* * *

><p><em>11<em>_00HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON_

"Abby?" Jess asked, her eyebrows pulling together as she frowned at her screen.

"Yeah?" Abby replied coolly, without looking round from her workstation. She continued to tap into the keyboard as she wrote up a report for Lester.

"You said earlier that Connor was working for Philip today."

Abby shrugged. "That's what he told me." Underneath her casual tone, lay a hint of doubt. "I can only _assume_ he's at one of the satellite labs."

"Right." Jess' frown deepened. "And he didn't mention anything about Matt?"

Abby shook her head. "_No_." She walked across the room to look over Jess' shoulder at the screen. The central monitor showed a faded out map that was almost impossible to decipher with two blinking red dots floating in the middle of a grey smudge: one labelled _Connor Temple_, the other _Matthew Anderson_.

"Strange," Abby agreed. "Matt hasn't taken much of an interest in Connor's new job up until now."

Jess nodded but continued to frown, tapping away at different buttons with no noticeable response on the computer. "That's not the only thing that's odd," she pointed at the monitor. "This is the best map I can get on screen. I can't load any floor plans and every attempt I make at accessing their CCTV network is blocked. I don't understand. It's like they're..." She fished for the right word.

"Unplottable?" Abby finished her sentence.

"Exactly!"

Abby raised an eyebrow. "How _very_ Harry Potter!"

Jess couldn't help but giggle. "Well, I did think that April looked a bit like Luna Lovegood when we met!"

A brief smirk passed across Abby's face until Becker interrupted, pulling them back to the present situation.

"Why don't you try calling Matt's mobile number?" he suggested. "You could get co-ordinates from that."

"Good idea," Abby said and Jess immediately started to dial.

With their attention on the ADD, in a flurry of activity fuelled by speculation and intrigue, they didn't notice the other person in the room. In the background, Emily sat and listened, her mouth set in a grim line.

* * *

><p><em>1<em>_100HRS: PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, LOCATION UNKNOWN_

From the outside it was a fairly nondescript building: a prefab, nothing special. Just concrete panels, breeze blocks and render, with metal beams dividing each section as though it had been put together like a jigsaw. For a moment, Matt thought he'd got the wrong building but then he saw the discrete Prospero logo by what appeared to be the main entrance.

He walked briskly towards it, ready with a plausible story to give security, but was surprised to find none. No security guard, no password or swipe card entry. Just an automatic door that hissed open and let him through.

He was faced by a long, stark white corridor. Everything was quiet and if he hadn't have watched Connor enter the building an hour or so before, he would've believed it deserted.

The silence was broken by the loud ringing of his mobile phone. Groaning, he grudgingly answered it, keeping his voice down though his ring tone had probably alerted someone to his presence already.

"Jess, can I call you back?" he said before she had chance to speak.

Jess' voice was unusually hesitant on the end of the line. "Um, sure… but Matt, where are you?"

"Later, Jess." He knew he was being brisk, rude even, but now was not the time. He hung up before Jess could reply and turned off his phone.

At that moment, a bespectacled face appeared around the door of the lab up ahead and fixed him with an accusing glare.

* * *

><p><em>1110HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

The line went dead and Jess turned to her colleagues. "That wasn't just me, right? He was being odd."

"Very odd," Abby agreed with a frown.

"But we spoke to him so we have his co-ordinates," Becker pointed out. "Look, something's coming through now. So we don't need his directions."

"True." Jess nodded and busily began retrieving the data and loading a map. She still couldn't access her usual aids of CCTV and floor plans, but at least she had something. It was her job to know where everyone was at all times.

How was she meant to do that when all she had were two red dots blinking on a blank screen?

"Somewhere in north west London," she said and the relief was clear in her voice. "Near… Wembley it looks like."

"Wembley?" Abby said and a strange expression crossed her face.

"Mean anything to you?" Becker asked.

"No…." She looked away from the monitor. "No… I had no idea where he was." Her voice was quiet, like something was troubling her. She was avoiding their eyes, her own becoming teary.

Jess frowned. "Are you ok?"

Abby nodded, blinking rapdily. "Sure… I better get back to work. Finish this report."

She wandered back off to her work station. Jess and Becker exchanged quizzical looks, but were soon distracted as a more detailed location map loaded. Feeling better to have some data to work with, Jess' attention was diverted from Abby's problems and she re-focused on her screens.

Only Emily was witness to the silent tears that fell into Abby's lap as she held her head in her hands.

* * *

><p><em>1115HRS: LAB FIVE, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, VERIFYING LOCATION<em>

When April ushered his team leader into the lab, Connor did a double-take. "Errr... Matt?" he questioned. "How did you get in here?"

"Through the front door," the older man stated pedantically.

"I found him in the corridor," April added unnecessarily and went back to her work.

Connor looked perplexed. "Why aren't you at the ARC?" he asked a slightly different question, whilst still looking for the same answer: why was Matt here?

Matt sat down on a stool next to the workbench Connor was using, making himself at home. "Connor, my job isn't just about sitting in the ARC and waiting for something to happen. I'm your team leader. So, I'm checking up on my team."

"Well, actually… I'm working for Prospero today."

"I thought we were one and the same," replied Matt, though he actually thought the opposite was true.

Connor frowned and scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. "I didn't think Philip had given anyone else our location."

"I'm sure there are many things that Philip hasn't told you," Matt answered the question indirectly, without actually lying. He was vaguely amused by Connor's confused expression. You could almost hear the cogs whirring. "So, anyway," he carried on, "Now that I'm here, why don't you talk me through what it is you're working on?"

"I… can't," Connor said, hesitating a little. "Confidentiality and all that jazz. You'll have to talk to Philip."

"He's proving to be a bit elusive." Matt wondered if Connor had heard from Philip more recently than the ARC, but if he had, he didn't respond with any confirmation.

"Connor?" April sidled up to him with a clipboard, pushing black thick-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "Can you sign this off so I can start the prep work?"

"Sure," he replied, a little distracted and scribbled on the dotted line without reading.

He turned back to his team leader. "Look, Matt, this is really bad timing. I've… I've had a rubbish morning. We're behind with the experiment, Philip's been on my case to make it work this time and to top it all off, Abby's… well, she's not exactly happy with me right now."

"Trouble in paradise?"

Connor didn't find that comment helpful. "Something like that. But, seriously, can we have this conversation another time?" When Matt didn't respond either in agreement or protest, Connor took matters into his own hands. "April?" he called to his lab assistant. "Can you show Matt out please?"

April came over and Matt looked between them. They made an odd pair. He hoped Abby wouldn't find any cause for jealousy in this current set-up. Still, that wasn't his problem.

He shook his head. "Don't worry," he said to April. "I can see myself out, you're obviously both very busy."

* * *

><p><em>1<em>_300HRS: MENAGERIE LAB, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON_

After lunch, Abby hid away in the menagerie lab. Although well-meaning, she could do without Jess worrying and wanting to know what was wrong. She wasn't sure she could even explain it. Not to Jess. The only person that might understand it was Connor and he wasn't there.

Abby hadn't known where Connor was today and it hadn't really bothered her this morning. She hadn't even thought about it until Jess had asked, too wrapped up in the fact that he was working for Prospero to think about anything else.

It was only when Jess had revealed the location of the satellite lab, that Abby realised she hadn't had a clue. Oddly enough, that scared her. It scared her more than she would ever admit.

She'd let him go off to work today, dropped him at a random tube station, unaware of his destination. She had never exactly been the type of girlfriend to keep tabs, but shouldn't she always know roughly where he was? For emergencies or whatever.

For a year in the Cretaceous they'd only had each other. She'd always been aware of where he was and he was never far away, because he was looking out for her too. They'd relied on each other completely and they'd shared everything with each other.

Now there were so many – too many – things that he wouldn't or couldn't tell her. She didn't like this new secrecy between them. It made her nervous, a shiver of anxiety in the pit of her stomach; constant butterflies and not the good kind.

Fear had been a big part of their lives during that year in the past – she should be used to it – but it seemed wrong to feel fear in the present. There shouldn't be anything to be afraid of, not now they were home safe, should there?


	2. Part 2

**Fear**

_My entry for "__F" of the A-Z Primeval FanFic Challenge_

_Who? __Series 4/5 Cast_

_When? __Post-series 4 (though I'm ignoring the fact that Emily left)_

**Part Two**

* * *

><p><em>1330HRS: CONTROL ROOM LIBRARY, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

Emily sat in her favourite corner and watched the others in the ARC. Although Lester had kindly arranged secure living quarters for her, they were windowless, clinical and lonely. So, during the day she discretely wandered the corridors of the ARC, just to have something to do. Until her identity had been established in this time – which required Lester to jump through a few hoops – she was not allowed out unless accompanied by one of the field team, usually Matt. So when everyone was otherwise occupied, she had to amuse herself indoors.

She liked this corner the best because she was tucked away amongst the dinosaur books without getting under people's feet but still able to observe the comings and goings of the control room. From anomaly alerts, to Jess trying to flirt with an oblivious Becker, to Abby fussing over Rex when she thought no one was looking; Emily noticed everything, more than they probably realised.

She played absentmindedly with her wedding ring. It was strange to think how close she was to home in terms of physical distance. Matt had explained that her house was still there albeit now converted into a three-star hotel. Yet in terms of time, she was displaced: a refugee of the gateways, washed up in a different time. This was not the future she'd planned for herself nor the future she'd imagined for her country. At every turn she was confronted by yet another invention of this age that had not existed in her wildest dreams.

As a child, she'd been fascinated by the passing of time: both her family's long and prestigious history and her own future. She'd dreamt about the lord or duke or prince she would marry, the children she would have, the life she would make for herself.

How wrong she had been.

Now, she watched them play with their new technology, trying to decipher Matt's whereabouts. She wondered how close they were to working it out; not just his mission today but the reason for his very existence. Despite all their knowledge of the gateways and travelling through them, she was surprised none of them had realised yet that he was not from their time. She had struggled at first with the idea of existing in this future. But where Matt came from was a future too distant for even these modern people to comprehend.

* * *

><p><em>1400HRS: EAST CORRIDOR, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, VERIFYING LOCATION<em>

Despite what he'd told Connor, Matt hadn't shown himself out. Instead, he crept around the building, exploring corridors and peering into deserted labs. He thought that maybe he should leave, but he was afraid that if he left, he might miss something.

His instinct about Ethan had been wrong – he'd accepted that – but what Danny had said played on his mind. It had concreted his fear that Philip, and inadvertently Connor, may be more of a threat. Maybe they could be what he'd been looking for.

He hadn't known what to expect when he'd followed Connor to work that morning: dodging briefcases in the rush hour, jumping on underground carriages at the last minute, ducking behind newspaper stands and pacing up escalators just to keep him in sight.

The lab was surprisingly low key. From his reconnaissance so far, Connor appeared to be the only employee other than his eccentric assistant. No obvious security. It had been so easy to get in.

Connor appeared to be, reluctantly, in charge. There was no authority to speak of, other than the absent but omniscient Philip Burton. His image gazed out from the Prospero propaganda that littered the notice boards of these empty corridors. Matt had the unnerved feeling of being watched.

* * *

><p><em>1530HRS: LAB FIVE, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, VERIFYING LOCATION<em>

Connor pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache threatened and tried to concentrate as April prattled on. She began talking rather graphically about an experiment she'd once done on frogs, which made him cringe, so he gave up listening to the conversation and continued to set up the experiment. He frowned as he thought about how Abby would have reacted if she'd been there. April clearly wasn't an animal lover. When he'd affectionately mentioned Rex one morning last week, she'd turned to him and, rather brusquely, reminded him: "That lizard almost killed Mr Burton, Connor!"

Sure, he was reasonably fond of April: she understood the research they were doing here, they happily chatted about their favourite TV shows and the people they admired. But he couldn't help admitting that she was peculiar and, occasionally, he saw a glimmer of something cold and calculating in her that he didn't like. He guessed she was just a better scientist than he was, more able to be emotionally detached from the people around her.

The first calibration sequence had finished so he nodded to April to fetch the first sample. She brought the tray over to him and started to unload the specimen. Connor frowned again, noticing the yellow warning label on the side. "April, is that the right one?" he asked.

"Sure it is," she replied, ignoring him and continuing to place it on the small trolley that would feed into the machine.

"This is 100% concentration. I thought we were going to start at 10% first, see how that reacts and then work our way up. We've not tested these samples before, so there's no way of knowing how they'll react. We need to start with a low concentration and go from there."

April still seemed to be ignoring him; he felt like he was hurling his words and reasoning against a brick wall. "No, this is the one we do first," she insisted. She slid the thick glass doors in place, made sure the seal between them was tight and then started the second cycle of the calibration.

Connor was momentarily stunned into silence as he watched her carry on regardless of his advice to the contrary.

"Um..." he eventually said, wishing he had a more authoritative voice, "I'm really not so sure about this, April."

"Mr Burton said to try this one first. If there are no problems, we don't need to waste time testing the rest." She looked up from her work then and fixed Connor with a shrewd look. "Anyway, you've already signed it off."

Connor was slightly taken aback by this mutinous attitude and complete disregard for his authority. However, he knew that where April was concerned, Philip Burton's words were gospel and not to be questioned. She was right in reminding him that he had already signed the forms, thus she had his consent in writing.

"Ok, fine," he said with a resigned voice, though April was diligently carrying on anyway regardless of his approval.

* * *

><p><em>1545HRS: MENAGERIE LAB, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

Abby was daydreaming once more, with little work actually being accomplished. Her mind was troubled and her heart was heavy. It was impossible to concentrate.

She sighed, feeling bad for how she'd behaved that morning. She only ever seemed to be yelling at Connor these days. Although it was hard to readjust to being back in the real world, it had become so much more than that. She was starting to wonder how long she and Connor could survive when they clearly didn't understand each other anymore.

_0__730HRS: APARTMENT OF JESSICA PARKER, WIMBLEDON, LONDON_

That morning, when she'd tried to stop him going to work at Prospero, she'd felt like she was fighting a losing battle. Their voices had grown louder and louder, and they had probably annoyed Jess again. It was the same argument, just from a slightly different angle; like they were walking in circles around the same problem.

"I know you're struggling," he'd said. "Being back here and I understand. I know I probably don't look that great to you now we're back and you're surrounded by real action-hero men like Matt and Becker..."

She'd tried to persuade him that this wasn't the case, but it was early and she was tired and already in a bad mood so her reassurance had probably sounded half-hearted.

"...but I'm trying to make a difference in the only way I can," he'd told her, "By carrying on Professor Cutter's research."

She'd stared at him. "Oh, Connor, this isn't Cutter's work. Can't you see that?" She'd paced the room, exasperated. "What you're doing is so far removed from what he would have wanted. I'm sorry, but this isn't his legacy!"

He'd tried to argue against this, but his reasons just hadn't added up in her head.

"We've seen the future," she'd insisted, "And it isn't a future Cutter would have willingly created, whatever Helen's harebrained theories."

She'd looked at him then, really looked, and she could almost see the Connor she was appealing to: Cutter's young student, desperate to prove himself. The one with the hopeless crush on her, the one who'd have done anything for her, fight any enemy and battle any creature.

"What if..." she'd said, stumbling over the words and afraid to admit the truth, though she knew she had to. They had to face what Connor was becoming. "What if that world was created by Burton and not Cutter? By Burton's anomaly research, or worse, by the work you're doing for him?"

"You're wrong," he'd told her but his voice was distant. She'd hated that heartbroken look on his face. She didn't like to be the one who hurt him; but the truth hurts and sometimes the only people who can tell you the truth are the ones who love you.

_1545__ HRS: MENAGERIE LAB, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON_

Sighing again, Abby blinked away her reverie and blinked away her tears. Her screen swam in front of her but she forced herself to focus. Connor would see sense. He would see the truth. It might just take him a bit longer than anyone else. Abby hoped he would realise before it was too late.

* * *

><p><em>1600HRS: CONTROL ROOM LIBRARY, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

By late-afternoon, Emily was starting to get bored. She had tidied the library, drawn a detailed copy of an _Edmontonia_ and re-alphabetised the Permian Era journals. She had also been keeping an eye on Jess, who was too preoccupied to notice.

Jess was still working on confirming the location of the satellite laboratory, with a little help from Becker. However, the security surrounding Prospero seemed to penetrate the core of the ARC computer system, making her attempts difficult.

Emily felt vaguely comforted by Philip's firewalls. They protected Matt at the moment, protected his mission; and this was no longer just his mission, it was hers too. She cared enough about him to have a stake in all this. Besides, however crazy she found this modern world, she did not want to see it destroyed.

She glanced at the clock, feeling a little agitated. Shouldn't Matt be back now? What was taking so long?

* * *

><p><em>1615<em>_ HRS: LAB FIVE, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, VERIFYING LOCATION_

The machine whirred to life, its six metal arms rotating around the core, electrical sparks flickering between them. Connor began to feel a bit jittery, like a nervous spare part compared to April who dashed about and ran the last system checks.

The specimen was ready and she didn't even wait for him to give the nod before running the start-up sequence. It counted down from ten, each number more ominous than the last. Connor hoped his instincts were wrong for once.

When the countdown reached zero, they stood back and watched the trolley deliver the specimen to the core of the machine. Connor braced himself.

They both had to shield their eyes when the specimen reacted, giving out a sudden, blinding light. For a moment, Connor thought they'd created some kind of anomaly: an orb of white light, surrounded by a halo of flickering orange. It took his brain a few more seconds to work out that this wasn't an anomaly, but a fire.

It was a strange other-worldly fire, radiating out of the centre of their machine, centred around the specimen Philip had wanted them to test.

Both Connor and April stared at it, transfixed, but the fire was growing bigger and gaining strength. Suddenly there was a small explosion that made them both jump. The safety glass had protected them thus far, but Connor had enough sense about him to know when to intervene.

He tried to stop the experiment and start the emergency shut down procedure but the computer wouldn't respond. Instead, he tried to use the cool down function that should smother the machine in a burst of CO2. The screen he stared at was frozen; nothing on the computer seemed to be functioning.

He looked to April for help but she was still mesmerised by the fire, a bizarrely triumphant smile on her face.

_Strange_, he thought, and tried the computer again. It still didn't work and he watched in alarm as the flames continued to grow.

This time he called to April, but still she ignored him. Pushing past her, he reached for the box on the wall and tried the manual shut down. That didn't work either.

Nothing worked.

Finally, April turned to face him slowly, as if he were watching her move in slow motion. She smiled. "Isn't it beautiful?" she said.


	3. Part 3

**Fear**

_My entry for "F" of the A-Z Primeval FanFic Challenge_

_Who? Series 4/5 Cast_

_When? Post-series 4 (though I'm ignoring the fact that Emily left)_

* * *

><p><strong><span>Part Three<span>**

_1620HRS: SOUTH CORRIDOR, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, VERIFYING LOCATION_

As Matt gently closed the door of the last empty lab in the south corridor, he heard something strange. It was a combination of crackling noises and juddering vibrations, followed by raised voices. Intrigued, he retraced his steps to the last bend in the passageway. Again he heard it, louder this time. It seemed to be coming from the direction of Connor's lab.

He knew Connor would be angry that he hadn't left, but maybe this was what he'd been looking for. Maybe these unusual noises were a clue to what was really going on here.

He started to jog in what he hoped was the right direction, but something caught his eye. The green arrowed exit sign of a fire escape glowed in the gloom and threw peculiar shadows on the walls; but that was not what concerned him. He frowned at the sight of a padlock and chain securing the door, rendering the escape useless. Did this mean something, other than a clear lack of awareness of health and safety regulations? Or was he just being paranoid?

Matt shook his head. The out-of-place noises were getting louder so he decided to continue onwards, trying to find his way around the maze-like corridors.

He would revisit this later.

* * *

><p><em>1620HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

"Do you think she's alright?" Jess whispered to Becker as he brought over the latest GIS print-out. They were still trying to locate their absent team members.

Jess nodded to the screen on her left where she had been using the CCTV network to keep an eye on Abby in the menagerie lab. Becker studied the image of his colleague. She was hunched over her desk and putting more effort into spiral-shaped doodles than her report.

"She seems... distracted," he concluded.

"They've had a fight," Jess stated matter-of-factly, "I heard them."

"Abby and Connor? You heard them fighting?"

"Yes." At his raised eyebrow, she tried to defend herself. "Well, I tried not to listen, of course, but they can yell pretty loud. That's why I came to work early."

Becker's lips quirked into an amused smile. "That was very restrained of you, Jess. If it had been me, I'd have probably marched in there, told them to shut up and knocked some sense into them."

"I can imagine!" Jess said with a giggle, "See, that's why you're in the military and I'm in people management."

"Really?" he teased, "Is that what you've got it as on your CV?" Jess twisted her mouth in that unique way that meant she wasn't saying anything, so Becker took that to mean a yes. "Anyway, I'd call it avoidance, not management."

"I call it _discretion_!" Jess snatched the report from his hands, pleased that this confirmed the suspected Wembley location and turned back to her monitors.

Becker rolled his eyes and backed away, his hands held up in defeat. "_Whatever_!"

* * *

><p><em>1625HRS: LAB FIVE, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, WEMBLY, LONDON<em>

Connor pressed the panic button under his desk; the one that linked straight to Philip. Then he smashed the small piece of glass on the wall with his elbow and set off the fire alarm. He cringed at the fuzzy sting of the impact but was vaguely comforted by the deafening shrill of the alarm. That, at least, seemed to work

"April, come on," he said to the lab assistant, who fixatedly watched the growing flames through the glass. "Let's go."

"We can't, Connor," she whined, uselessly tapping keys on the control panel. "The lab. Our equipment. Our _research_."

"It doesn't matter," he tugged on her arm, but she shrugged him away.

"But this _does_ matter!" she yelled, turning towards him, a manic look in her eyes. "We can't leave."

"Stop it, you'll make it worse." Again she pushed him away as he tried to prise her hands from the controls. "We have to get out of here before the whole thing blows," he said desperately, eyeing the ruined experiment. "Come on!"

"You go!" she shouted over the sound of the fire alarm, pushing him towards the door, "I'll be with you in a minute!"

He stood on the threshold, torn. He knew it was wrong to leave a member of your team behind but she was being so insistent, something wild in her eyes that told him not to argue.

* * *

><p><em>1630HRS: EAST CORRIDOR, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, WEMBLEY, LONDON<em>

The alarms rang in Connor's ears and, disorientated, he pushed his way out of the lab. He jogged down the corridor towards the fire escape, only to run into another body.

"Matt!" he yelled, exasperation clear in his voice. "What are you still doing here?"

The other man yelled back: "Keeping an eye on you!"

Suddenly, there was a strange rumble that distracted them, followed by the sound of breaking glass and falling rubble.

"April!" Connor cried as an explosion burst from the lab and a ball of flame rolled across the ceiling. Matt pulled him backwards to the floor and they watched the fire sweep the walls above them, then retreat as fast as it came, like a dragon sucking in its breath.

The building around them creaked.

"We've got to get out of here," Matt said and together, crouched and running as explosions continued behind them, they made their way down the narrow corridors.

Connor led the way towards the nearest green light. Their path to the doors of the fire escape was clear; they could reach it in only a few seconds. That was when Matt realised their mistake. Just like the exit he'd passed before, this was also chained up.

"What the hell?" Connor asked, rattling the door hopelessly. He backed away and took a short run up, crashing into the door and rubbing his shoulder when it refused to budge.

Smoke billowed out of Lab Five, stinging their eyes and filling their lungs. Matt tried to concentrate and think of another plan. "Is there another way to the entrance?" he asked.

Connor coughed and nodded. "Round the back of the lab," he wheezed.

"Ok, let's go!" Matt replied, tugging Connor in the direction he'd indicated.

The heat was extreme in this part of the building – it stung their cheeks and made their eyes water – the fire on the other side of the wall must have intensified.

"Wait!" Matt called and they slowed to a stop by a drinking water fountain, recessed into the wall. Without hesitation, Matt threw off his shirt so that he was just wearing his white t-shirt underneath. It wasn't like he needed the extra layer anyway in this heat. He tore the thin fabric in two and quickly soaked each piece; the water turning to vapour around them.

He held a piece of the torn shirt to his face, indicating that Connor should do the same and then they continued to run towards the exit. The damp cloth made it slightly easier to breathe.

Ahead of them, Matt could see daylight, hazy through the smoke. "Come on," he said to Connor, who'd stopped at another water fountain to dampen his rag. As he did so, he bent over coughing. "Connor, this way," Matt encouraged.

They were almost back to the double doors he'd walked through just a few hours before. The corridor was familiar but now the walls around them were groaning ominously and the ceiling was starting to cave in. "Come on!" Matt yelled again but the falling debris was making their passage more difficult.

Then, suddenly, the beam above them gave in to the pressure and came loose, plummeting towards them.

Everything went black.

* * *

><p><em>1640HRS: CONTROL CENTRE, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

"Abby?" Jess patched through to the menagerie lab. This time when she called her friend and colleague over, her voice was less inquisitive and closer to panic. This was enough to make Abby come out of the lab straight away and join her at the anomaly detector.

"These black boxes are giving me some _really_ weird readings," Jess told Abby, whilst Becker leaned in beside her to get a better view of the monitors.

"What like?" Abby asked, frowning.

"I have warnings coming up all over the place. Apparently, they're experiencing a high concentration of carbon dioxide," Jess said, tapping her console to bring up the information, "Really high temperatures too. From both Connor's black box and Matt's. And neither of them has actually moved for the last 5 minutes or so. I'm not talking about sitting down to have a chat. I'm talking _no_ movement at all."

Abby's face was frightened and unsure. She wasn't entirely certain what Jess was trying to tell her but none of it sounded good. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Something's gone wrong," Becker concluded and stood up straight, ready for action. "I'm going down there."

He took a black box from the console, clipped it to his belt. "Jess, call the emergency services. I think we're going to need back-up. Give them all the location data you've got for Matt and Connor."

Jess nodded, accepting her instructions, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Tell them we suspect a fire," he added. "Tell them it's high-priority."

Abby just stared at Becker in shock and confusion. Once again, she felt her eyes well with tears.

He looked at the two frightened women before him. "Everything will be fine," he tried to reassure them. "I'll keep in touch."

Becker's hand rested on the arm of Jess' seat, and she covered it with her own. "Be careful," she said. He nodded and removed his hand from hers.

Jess sighed. Though she knew he was a soldier and trained in this type of thing, she always had the same fear each time he left the ARC on a mission: that maybe this would be the time he didn't come back and she'd have missed her chance to tell him how she felt.

Abby listened to his retreating footsteps, her eyes focused on Connor's name blinking and unmoving in the middle of Jess' screen. Then she turned.

"Wait, Becker. I'm coming with you."

* * *

><p><em>1645HRS: PROSPERO HEAD OFFICE, GUILDFORD, SURREY<em>

Philip watched the red warning light continue to flash on his console: the Wembley panic alarm. He looked around his depleted control centre. Orange crates were waiting for transportation and each piece of equipment was being turned off, one at a time, by the skeleton team of staff left behind.

He didn't wait for the technician to reach him. Instead, he silenced the panic alarm and shut down his own work station.

He packed a laptop into his bag. That was all he would need for the journey. All of this would be waiting for him when it was safe for him to return but, for now, his mission here would have to wait. The authorities were closing their net. It was not safe to stay. There were other fish to fry, elsewhere, and England would have to wait.

Someone cleared their throat nearby and Philip turned to see the technician waiting for him, a clipboard in his hands. There was a Prospero logo embossed on the back; they would be leaving that identity behind as well.

"Mr Burton?"

He tore his eyes away from the logo and into the expectant face of the technician. "Yes?"

"We're almost done here," the technician said. "Your car is ready. Everything is in place."

Philip nodded. "Thank you. And the labs at Tottenham?"

"Shut down. All staff debriefed and relocated to other facilities."

"Good."

There was a pause and Philip expected to be left alone, but the technician continued to hover. "Um...there's one thing though, Mr Burton," he said after hesitating for a moment or so.

"Yes?" Philip was beginning to feel impatient to leave.

"The Wembley satellite labs. Are they to continue operating? Only without head office guidance they would be on their own. Have preparations been made?"

"I've dealt with the Wembley lab," Philip told the technician briskly, pulling his laptop bag on to his shoulder and picking up his briefcase. "There's no need to worry about that."

He turned away and headed out of the door. He didn't look back.

* * *

><p><em>1650HRS: SOUTH CORRIDOR, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, WEMBLEY, LONDON<em>

Connor awoke in the dark, clammy and uncomfortable, and he vaguely wondered why he felt so warm when the weather had been so awful lately. He tried to move but his body was trapped. The air around him was stifling and he found it hard to inhale.

_Abby was right_, he thought, _this was a bad idea_. He twisted his body but the simultaneous pain in his legs and his chest was too much and he couldn't breathe. This time the blackness came as a relief.

_1655HRS: NORTHBOUND CARRIAGEWAY, A406, LONDON_

Becker drove quickly through the streets, with Abby next to him in the passenger seat. She noted his hands steadily holding the wheel, and wondered if he was actually afraid of anything. In comparison, she had to take deep breaths just to keep the panic at bay.

Outer London flashed past the window as Becker picked up speed but, for Abby, each minute dragged excruciatingly. Once again, she glanced impatiently at the watch on Becker's wrist. She wanted to be there.

"Alpha team, can I have your stats?" Jess' disembodied voice asked from somewhere inside the truck. It made Abby jump.

Becker just rolled his eyes and pulled a funny face at Abby, trying to cheer her up at Jess' expense.

"Alpha team, _please_ respond."

Abby pointed, questioningly, to the speaker above their heads as Jess' voice became more agitated. Becker smiled slightly and shook his head.

"Alpha team, are you there?" Jess was starting to sound annoyed. "Becker, would you please report your stats?"

With a sigh, Becker decided he'd ignored the field-coordinator long enough. "I'm driving down a dual carriageway, Jess. Not much to report."

There was a pause. "You said you'd keep in touch," Jess replied, her voice quieter than before.

"I will, when there's something worth reporting."

"Ok."

Jess seemed to leave them then. The change in her voice had caught Abby off guard. All efficiency had evaporated and been replaced by a worry they both shared: that someone they cared about may be in trouble.

Becker glanced at Abby. "It'll be ok," he said, sensing her uneasiness.

She desperately wanted to believe him.

* * *

><p><em>1700HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

Emily crept over to the control panel where Jess sat, eyes fixed upon the screen and biting her lip.

"Jess?" she asked tentatively.

"Hi, Emily!" Jess tried to put on a bright smile and chirpy attitude but Emily saw right through it.

"What's going on?" she asked even though she didn't really need to. She'd been eavesdropping all afternoon.

"I swear," replied an exasperated Jess, rolling her eyes, "Sometimes it's easier to keep track of the creatures than the ARC personnel."

"Including Becker?" Emily asked with a small smile, but Jess was busy building up to a rant and completely missed the teasing tone of her voice.

"Especially Becker!" she exclaimed. "I don't know who he thinks he is! Running around like some TV action hero! Telling us all what to do. Not letting _me_ do _my_ job. It's ridiculous. What am I meant to do? Just sit here and wait for the report to come in that he's been hurt. Again!"

Emily let the younger girl fume. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she found she could smile at this. "You care about him, don't you?"

The look on Jess' face answered her question.

* * *

><p><em>1705HRS: NORTHBOUND CARRIAGEWAY, A406, LONDON<em>

_Be careful_. The words echoed in Becker's mind as he stared at the road ahead. As if careful had ever been in his job description!

He couldn't allow himself to think about Jess now, when they didn't know what they might be facing. It was hard enough to know that two of his friends were in trouble.

He wasn't able to think about her because it hurt too much. It hurt that she cared about him and he could do nothing about it.

It was a bad idea to care too deeply in this job. He'd cared about Sarah and he'd lost her; worst of all, her death had essentially been his fault. She had put her trust in him that and he'd failed.

His resolve strengthened. He would not fail today. He'd get them out of there. All of them.

* * *

><p><em>1710HRS: MAIN CAR PARK, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, WEMBLEY, LONDON<em>

Abby and Becker arrived at the Wembley Labs and were suddenly faced with the reality and scale of the situation.

Jess had followed Becker's instructions to the letter and they found a fire crew already beginning to battle the blaze. Two ambulances stood on standby, the paramedics poised and ready, but their faces were turned up to watch the burning building; ineffective until presented with casualties.

Abby clambered out of the truck, her legs leaden with shock. She felt like she was choking on the sudden fear that gripped her. Her hands clawed at her throat as she took in the smoke and the flames. Slowly, she removed her earpiece, unable to cope with Jess' requests for updates. She didn't know what to say, how to put in to words what she was seeing.

Becker held a palmtop in front of him and, using the information transmitted from the black boxes, he could see that Connor and Matt should be just inside the building, near the main entrance.

A group of fire officers donned masks and oxygen tanks, presumably to search the building. Abby and Becker watched as they did their safety checks.

"Too slow," muttered Becker, shaking his head. "Sorry Jess."

"What?" Abby asked, distracted by the chaos.

He turned to her. "Stay here. Give Connor and Matt's details to the paramedics."

"What?" she said again, watching in dismay as Becker jogged up to the burning building, shielding his face from the heat. "Becker!" she yelled after him.

He ignored Abby's cries and the warnings of the fire officers. He tried to see into the main entrance, but the smoke clouded his view, so he crept further forward. He couldn't see them but maybe he'd be able to if he could just get a bit closer.

There was a shout behind him and then a clattering sound above. Masonry began to tumble downwards as part of the exterior wall collapsed. He covered his head with his hands as the debris rained down.

Becker disappeared under a pile of rubble.

* * *

><p><em>1720HRS: CONTROL ROOM, ANOMALY RESEARCH CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON<em>

Jess watched in horror as Becker's black box flashed on screen as: _UNIT DAMAGED, REPLACE UNIT IMMEDIATELY._

"What's going _on_?" she said, more to herself than to Emily. "Those black boxes never fail." She frantically began to run the diagnostic report.

"Maybe he just dropped it?" Emily suggested.

"No, they're pretty tough," Jess explained, in a business-like manner, though slightly distracted. "Brand new technology made of special reinforced plastic. It would take quite a knock to stop one of them working." As her own words sank in, her stomach began to churn and her demeanour changed. "Oh no, you don't think?"

"I don't know," Emily offered helplessly as Jess stared up at her with wide, scared eyes.

"He tried to play the hero, didn't he?" she said, deflated. "I told him to be _careful_!"

Emily placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. Try and contact Abby again."

* * *

><p><em>1735HRS: MAIN CAR PARK, PROSPERO SATELLITE RESEARCH LABS, WEMBLEY, LONDON<em>

Abby wasn't sure what it was that she was feeling; "shock" didn't seem to cover it anymore. She watched, helplessly, as the fire crew extracted Becker from the rubble.

She ran over to where the paramedics were attending to him. "Becker?" He was unconscious but breathing. His hair was white with dust but she could see a startling smudge of blood seeping through.

"We're going to take your colleague to hospital," the paramedic told her.

She nodded, stunned at how fast everything had happened. "Take care of him," she said and her mind flitted automatically to Jess, sitting in the ARC unaware of what was happening.

She glanced up at the plume of smoke above the destroyed Prospero building, which seemed to have grown since she last looked. How was she going to tell Jess?

There was movement near the entrance, distracting Abby from her thoughts. Sighing with relief, she watched two fire-fighters carry Matt from the burning building. The paramedics immediately put an oxygen mask over his face. She took this to be a good sign.

Sirens sounded behind her as Becker's ambulance rushed off to the hospital. Simultaneously, another arrived to replace it. It was all amazingly efficient.

Abby was about to approach Matt to ask the paramedics how he was doing, but something stopped her. Through the haze of smoke, two of the fire crew were carefully lifting another body from the debris.

The commotion around her faded into the background and she watched them approach in what appeared to be slow motion. She let out a strangled cry, quite involuntarily, and began to run towards them. As much as she cared about Matt and Becker, they were wrenched from her consciousness. All she could think about now was Connor.

The paramedics met the fire crew half-way, immediately beginning work on Connor's motionless body. Abby tried to see past them, tried to assess the damage, but once again, the paramedics asked her to keep her distance.

When she began to cry at their firm words, one paramedic took pity on her. "Do you know him?" she asked.

"Yes," she replied. "He's my... my..." Boyfriend didn't seem to sum it up. "He's my Connor," she eventually said and this seemed to be good enough for the paramedic, who ushered her through the bodies so she could see him.

They strapped him to a spinal board, letting her hover helplessly, paralysed with fear as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Behind her, Matt's ambulance raced noisily off to hospital.

"We're going to put him in the ambulance now," the paramedic told her. "You can ride with him if you like."

She nodded and they secured Connor's board to the stretcher before wheeling him towards the waiting ambulance.

Shaking uncontrollably, Abby pulled her mobile phone from her pocket.

Jess picked up quickly.

"Jess," Abby said carefully, softly, an eerie calmness creeping over her, like she was having an out-of-body experience. People moved around her but she barely registered them.

"I think you need to be here." She paused. "No, not here. I'll explain. But Emily too. Get someone to drive you to..." she trailed off, knowing she wasn't making any sense.

"Abby?" Jess' voice was timid, scared.

"Its Connor..." her voice broke a little as she looked at his quiet figure, strapped to a trolley in the ambulance. She had to keep her voice strong, even if she didn't feel it herself, because she didn't want to panic Jess. "And Matt... and Becker too." A paramedic was signalling to her now, wanting to know if she was going to ride with Connor. "I'll meet you at the hospital, ok?"

She heard a sob on the other end of the phone as Jess barely managed to get out her reply. "Ok."

Then Emily's voice, clear and strong, like Abby wished she could be right now, said: "We'll be there, Abby."

And it was Emily's confidence that allowed her to hang up the phone and clamber into the ambulance.

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

><p>AN: I stupidly didn't realise I hadn't update this on here. Sorry! Thanks to those who reviewed. The story continues in "Guilt" and "Hospital" – to be uploaded soon I hope!


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